Gaming Machine With Surround Sound Features

ABSTRACT

A gaming machine for conducting a wagering game includes selective application of surround sound. The selective application of surround sound allows certain key gaming events to be emphasized over other gaming events. The surround sound may be varied to produce certain effects, such as a tactile effect and a gradual building up of suspense and anticipation that increases player excitement and enjoyment. A surround sound decoder may be added in some embodiments to convert monophonic and stereo wagering games into surround sound. The surround sound may be implemented as true surround sound or as virtual surround sound.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/345,787, entitled “Gaming System with Surround Sound,” filedon Jan. 16, 2003, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

COPYRIGHT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdisclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patentfiles or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the use of surround sound ingaming machines and, more particularly, to a method and system ofselectively applying surround sound to enhance the game play experience.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electronic gaming machines, such as mechanical reel slot machines, videoslot machines, video poker machines, video bingo machines, video kenomachines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industryfor several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines withplayers is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) ofwinning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value ofthe machine relative to other available gaming options. Where theavailable gaming options include a number of competing machines and theexpectation of winning each machine is roughly the same (or perceived tobe the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the mostentertaining and exciting of the machines. Shrewd operators consequentlystrive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines availablebecause such machines attract frequent play and hence increaseprofitability to the operator.

To enhance a player's entertainment experience, electronic gamingmachines often include special features such as enhanced payoffs, a“secondary” or “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a“basic” game, and attractive audio and/or visual effects accompanyingthe basic and bonus games. The bonus game may comprise any type of game,either similar to or completely different from the basic game, which isentered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basicgame. Generally, the bonus game provides a greater expectation ofwinning than the basic game. Further, attractive audio and/or visualeffects accompany the basic and bonus games.

Because electronic gaming machines are an important source of income forthe gaming industry, operators continually search for new gamingstrategies and features to distinguish their electronic gaming machinesfrom competitors in the industry and to provide additional incentivesfor players to play longer and to return to the casino on their nexttrip. Accordingly, there is a continuing need for manufacturers toprovide new techniques for enhancing the entertainment experienceinvolved in the play of electronic gaming machines. The presentinvention is directed to satisfying this need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method and system for selectivelyapplying surround sound in a gaming machine. The selective applicationof surround sound allows certain key gaming events to be emphasized overother gaming events. The surround sound may be varied to produce certaineffects, such as a tactile effect and a gradual building up of suspenseand anticipation that increases player excitement and enjoyment. Asurround sound decoder may be added in some embodiments to convertmonophonic and stereo wagering games into surround sound. The surroundsound may be implemented as true surround sound or as virtual surroundsound.

According to one aspect of the invention, a gaming machine comprises agame display operable to display a symbol combination representing anoutcome of a wagering game, the outcome being randomly selected from aplurality of outcomes. The gaming machine further comprises an audiosystem operable to produce gaming sounds during the game play of thewagering game. The gaming sounds correspond to gaming events in thewagering game, including one or more special gaming events. The audiosystem is configured to produce in surround sound only the gaming soundsthat correspond to the one or more special gaming events.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method of operating agaming machine comprises the steps of receiving a wager in the gamingmachine and displaying a symbol combination representing an outcome of awagering game in response to receiving the wager. The outcome of thewagering game is randomly selected from a plurality of outcomes. Themethod further comprises the step of selectively producing surroundsound in response to certain ones of the plurality of outcomes beingrandomly selected during the game play of the wagering game.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a gaming machinecomprises a game display operable to display a symbol combinationrepresenting an outcome of a wagering game, the outcome being randomlyselected from a plurality of outcomes. The gaming machine furthercomprises an audio system operable to produce gaming sounds during thewagering game. The wagering game has a theme and the audio system isconfigured to produce, in surround sound, theme-related sounds thatprovide a realistic ambience based on the theme of the wagering game.

According to still another aspect of the invention, a gaming machinecomprises a game display operable to display a symbol combinationrepresenting an outcome of a wagering game, the outcome being randomlyselected from a plurality of outcomes. The gaming machine furthercomprises an audio system operable to produce gaming sounds during thewagering game. A surround sound decoder is connected to the audio systemfor converting gaming sounds having a non-surround sound format into asurround sound format.

Additional aspects of the invention will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of variousembodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a briefdescription of which is provided below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a gaming machine for conducting awagering game;

FIG. 2A is an isometric view of a gaming machine with a speakerarrangement according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2B is a front view of a chair and surround sound speakers shown inFIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a chair and surround sound speakers accordingto another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a chair and a surround sound speaker accordingto yet another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of gaming machines and a speaker arrangementaccording to a further embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of gaming machines and a speaker arrangementaccording to still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a gaming machine and a speaker arrangementaccording to yet another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a gaming machine and a speaker arrangementaccording to still a further embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a gaming machine and a speaker arrangementaccording to still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a control system suitable for operating agaming machine according to yet another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a gaming system architecture in which a bank ofgaming machines are connected to a host computer; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of another control system suitable foroperating a gaming machine according to yet another embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a gaming machine 10 operableto conduct a wagering game such as slots, poker, keno, bingo, orblackjack. Generally, the gaming machine 10 receives a wager from aplayer to purchase a play of the game. In response, the gaming machine10 generates at least one random event using a random number generator(RNG) and provides an award to the player for a winning outcome of therandom event. Alternatively, the gaming machine 10 may be linked to aremote host computer that generates the random event and transmits theevent's outcome to the gaming machine 10. To portray the outcome to theplayer, the gaming machine 10 includes a video display 12 as shown or amechanical display. The video display 12 may be implemented with a CRT,LCD, plasma, or other type of video display known in the art. To allowthe player to place wagers, make game selections, and otherwise operatethe gaming machine 10, the gaming machine 10 includes a physical buttonpanel 14 or a touch screen over the video display 12.

Operation of the gaming machine 10 is described in greater detail belowin the context of a video slot game. The video slot game is implementedon the video display 12 on a number of video simulated spinning reels 16with a number of pay lines 18. Each of the pay lines 18 extends throughone symbol on each of the reels 16. Generally, game play is initiated byinserting money or playing a number of credits, causing the gamingmachine's central processing unit/CPU (see FIG. 2) to activate a numberof pay lines corresponding to the amount of money or number of creditsplayed. In one embodiment, the player selects the number of pay lines toplay by pressing a “Select Lines” touch key on the display 12. Theplayer then chooses the number of coins or credits to bet on theselected pay lines by pressing a “Bet Per Line” touch key.

After activation of the pay lines, the reels 16 may be set in motion bypressing a “Spin Reels” touch key or, if the player wishes to bet themaximum amount per line, by using a “Max Bet Spin” touch key on thedisplay 12. Alternatively, other mechanisms such as a lever or pushbutton may be used to set the reels in motion. The CPU uses a randomnumber generator to select a game outcome (e.g., “basic” game outcome)corresponding to a particular set of reel “stop positions.” The CPU thencauses each of the video reels 16 to stop at the appropriate stopposition. Video symbols are displayed on the reels 16 to graphicallyillustrate the reel stop positions and indicate whether the stoppositions of the reels represent a winning game outcome.

Winning basic game outcomes (e.g., symbol combinations resulting inpayment of coins or credits) are identifiable to the player by a paytable. In one embodiment, the pay table is affixed to the gaming machine10 and/or displayed by the display 12 in response to a command by theplayer (e.g., by pressing a “Pay Table” touch key). A winning basic gameoutcome occurs when the symbols appearing on the reels 16 along anactive pay line correspond to one of the winning combinations on the paytable. A winning combination, for example, could be three or morematching symbols along an active pay line, where the award is greater asthe number of matching symbols along the active pay line increases. Ifthe displayed symbols stop in a winning combination, the game creditsthe player an amount corresponding to the award in the pay table forthat combination multiplied by the amount of credits bet on the winningpay line. The player may collect the amount of accumulated credits bypressing a “Collect” touch key. In one implementation, the winningcombinations start from the first reel (left to right) and span adjacentreels. In an alternative implementation, the winning combinations startfrom either the first reel (left to right) or the fifth reel (right toleft) and span adjacent reels.

Included among the plurality of basic game outcomes may be one or morestart-feature outcomes for triggering play of special features. Astart-feature outcome may be defined in any number of ways. For example,a start-feature outcome may occur when a special start-feature symbol ora special combination of symbols appears on one or more of the reels 16.The start-feature outcome may require the combination of symbols toappear along an active pay line, or may alternatively require that thecombination of symbols appear anywhere on the display 12 regardless ofwhether the symbols are along an active pay line. The appearance of astart-feature outcome causes the CPU to shift operation from the videoslot game to the special feature associated with that outcome.

In accordance with the present invention, the gaming machine 10 includesa speaker arrangement for emitting multi-channel audio associated withthe wagering game in surround sound relative to a player in front of thegaming machine 10. Surround sound refers to the use of sound to envelopthe player, making the player feel like he or she is in the middle ofthe action. The multi-channel audio allows the player to hear soundscoming from all around the player, thus enhancing the player's enjoymentand causing the player to become captivated in the gaming experience.The speaker arrangement for emitting the audio in surround soundincludes both a “front” speaker arrangement and a “surround sound”speaker arrangement. Any speaker of the speaker arrangement may belinked to the gaming machine's CPU by speaker wire or a wirelessconnection.

There are several embodiments of the front speaker arrangement. In oneembodiment shown in FIG. 1, the front speaker arrangement includes aleft speaker 30 and a right speaker 32 mounted within a cabinet of thegaming machine 10. In an alternative embodiment, the front speakerarrangement includes a single center speaker. In another alternativeembodiment, the front speaker arrangement includes a left speaker, aright speaker, and a center speaker.

There are also several embodiments of the surround sound speakerarrangement. In one embodiment, shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the surroundsound speaker arrangement includes a rear left speaker 20 and a rearright speaker 22 generally behind the player. A rear center speaker (seeFIG. 4 for placement) is optional. The rear left and rear right speakers20 and 22 are mounted to a chair 26 on which the player can sit. In analternative embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the rear left and rear rightspeakers 20 and 22 are positioned generally on opposite sides of theplayer and remote from the gaming machine. In an alternative embodimentshown in FIG. 4, the speaker arrangement includes only a rear centerspeaker 24 generally behind the player.

In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 5, the surround sound speakerarrangement includes a rear left speaker 50 a, a rear right speaker 52a, and an optional rear center speaker (see FIG. 6 for placement)generally behind the player 56 a at the gaming machine 10 a. The rearleft and rear right speakers 50 a and 52 a are mounted above a secondgaming machine 10 b positioned across an aisle from the gaming machine10 a used by the player 56 a and are “aimed” toward the player 56 a toprovide that player with surround sound. In a reciprocal manner,speakers 50 b and 52 b (and an optional rear center speaker) are mountedabove the gaming machine 10 a and aimed toward a player 56 b to providethat player with surround sound. If the speakers are wireless, thegaming machines 10 a and 10 b may be outfitted with respective wirelesstransmitters 58 a and 58 b for communicating audio signals to thespeakers above the opposing gaming machine. In an alternative embodimentshown in FIG. 6, the speaker arrangement includes only a rear centerspeaker 54 a generally behind the player 56 a at the gaming machine 10 aand a rear center speaker 54 b generally behind the player 56 b at thegaming machine 10 b.

In yet another embodiment, shown in FIG. 7, the surround sound speakerarrangement includes a rear left and right speakers 70 and an optionalrear center speaker (not shown). The speakers 70 are mounted to thecabinet of the gaming machine 10 and extend from the cabinet to aposition behind or to one side of the player.

In yet another embodiment, shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the surround soundspeaker arrangement includes one or more front speakers 80 (in additionto front speakers 30 and 32 in FIG. 1) and a remote reflective surface82 behind or to the sides of the player. The reflective surface 82 may,for example, be mounted to the chair 26 as in FIG. 8 or to a structurebehind the chair 26 as in FIG. 9. The speakers 80 aim concentrated soundbeams 84 at the reflective surface 82. The player hears the reflectedsound and perceives the sound as coming from behind him or her. Furtherdetails concerning this “virtual” speaker technology may be obtainedfrom U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,899 to Norris et al., which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

The speakers in the above embodiments generally provide full frequencyresponse (e.g., from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz). In addition to these speakers,the speaker arrangement may include another speaker, called a subwoofer,dedicated to lower frequency effects (e.g., 20 Hz to 120 Hz). Thesubwoofer may be placed anywhere near the gaming machine 10, includingwithin the cabinet of the gaming machine 10.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a control system suitable for operatingthe gaming machine 10. Money/credit detector 100 signals the CPU 102when a player has inserted money or played a number of credits. Themoney may be provided by coins, bills, tickets, coupons, cards, etc.Using a button panel 14 (see FIG. 1) or a touch screen 104, the playermay select any variables associated with the wagering game (e.g., numberof pay lines and bet per line in a video slot game) and place his/herwager to purchase a play of the game. In a play of the game, the CPU 102generates at least one random event using a random number generator(RNG) and provides an award to the player for a winning outcome of therandom event. The CPU 102 operates the display 12 to represent therandom event(s) and outcome(s) in a visual form that can be understoodby the player. In addition to the CPU 102, the control system mayinclude one or more additional slave control units for operatingadditional video and/or mechanical displays.

Memory 106 stores control software, operational instructions and data(or rather the computer-readable versions of such software, instructionsand data) associated with the gaming machine. In one embodiment, thememory 106 comprises read-only memory (ROM) and battery-backedrandom-access memory (RAM). The memory 106 may also include auxiliarymemory for storing audio and/or video data. However, it will beappreciated that the memory 106 may be implemented on any of severalalternative types of memory structures or may be implemented on a singlememory structure. A payoff mechanism 108 is operable in response toinstructions from the CPU 102 to award a payoff to the player. Thepayoff may, for example, be in the form of a number of credits. Thenumber of credits may be determined by one or more math tables stored inthe memory 106.

The CPU 102 selects and processes audio data for producing themulti-channel audio to be emitted from speakers 110. The audio data maybe stored in the memory 106 in any of various surround sound formats.The CPU 102 includes decoding circuitry and amplification circuitrysuitable for the selected format. Alternatively, the decoding circuitryand the amplification circuitry may be located on a dedicated sound CPUboard (not expressly shown) linked to the CPU 102. The decodingcircuitry and the amplification circuitry may be located outside thegaming machine 10; for example, the amplification circuitry may belocated at the speakers 110 or anywhere between the gaming machine 10and the speakers 110. The speakers 110 are arranged according to theselected format. Examples of digital and analog surround sound formatsare discussed below.

DOLBY DIGITAL™ (formerly Dolby AC-3) by Dolby Laboratories, Inc. is adigital surround sound format suitable for the audio data when it isstored in a digital section of the memory 106, such as on a DVD orlaserdisc. DOLBY DIGITAL™ provides up to five discrete (independent)channels of full frequency effects (e.g., from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz), plusan optional sixth channel dedicated to low frequency effects (e.g., from20 Hz to 120 Hz). The five discrete channels include front center, frontleft, front right, surround left, and surround right. The center,front-left, and front-right channels generally carry dialogue, music,and sound effects, while the surround left and surround right channelsprovide surround sound and ambient effects. The sixth channel is usuallyreserved for a subwoofer speaker for reproducing the low frequencyeffects that may come with certain wagering games. During production,the audio data is stored in the memory 106 in DOLBY DIGITAL™ format,i.e., as compressed and encoded digital data. The stored digital data isencoded with information indicating the data stream to be transmittedthrough each sound channel. The CPU 102 includes a digital surroundsound decoder that, during playback, decodes the stored digital datainto multiple data streams transmitted through the sound channels.

An extended surround version of DOLBY DIGITAL™, called DOLBY DIGITAL EX™or SURROUND EX™, encodes the audio data with a third surround channel(i.e., surround back channel) that can be decoded for playback over arear center speaker placed behind the player. Using matrix encodingtechnology, the surround back channel information is encoded into thesurround left and right channels during production and later decoded (orderived) from the surround left and right channels during playback.Because of this matrix encoding scheme, the surround back channel is nota true discrete channel. This allows certain audio effects to bepresented behind the player, thereby achieving more enveloping andcomplete 360 degree surround sound.

DTS DIGITAL SURROUND™ by Digital Theatre Systems, Inc. is a competingand alternative digital surround sound format to DOLBY DIGITAL™. LikeDOLBY DIGITAL™, DTS DIGITAL SURROUND™ provides up to five discretechannels of full frequency effects, plus an optional sixth channeldedicated to low frequency effects. DTS DIGITAL SURROUND™, however,offers higher data rates, and therefore uses more of the capacity of thememory 106, than DOLBY DIGITAL™.

An extended surround version of DTS DIGITAL SURROUND™, called DTS-ESMATRIX™, encodes the audio data with a third surround channel (i.e.,surround back channel) that can be decoded for playback over a rearcenter speaker placed behind the player. Yet another extended surroundversion of DTS DIGITAL SURROUND™, called DTS-ES DISCRETE 6.1™, supportsa fully discrete surround back channel. That is, the surround backchannel has it own data stream and is truly independent from those ofthe surround left and right channels.

DOLBY PRO-LOGIC™ by Dolby Laboratories, Inc. is an analog surround soundformat that encodes four channels of audio information onto two stereoanalog channels during production. The encoded two-channel audio data isstored in an analog section of the memory 106, such as on a Hi-Fi VHStape. The four channels include front center, front left, front right,and mono surround. The front center channel, among other things,“anchors” any dialogue in a wagering game to the image shown on thevideo display 12. The CPU 102 includes an analog surround sound decoderthat, during playback, uses a technique called matrixing to derive thefront center channel and surround sound channel from the encodedtwo-channel audio data stored in the memory 106. The surround channel islimited in bandwidth to frequencies from 100 Hz to 7,000 Hz.

DOLBY SURROUND™ by Dolby Laboratories, Inc. is an analog surround soundformat that encodes three channels of audio information onto two stereoanalog channels. The three channels include front left, front right, andsurround. Relative to DOLBY PRO-LOGIC™, DOLBY SURROUND™ gives up thefront center channel along with some degree of fidelity in the surroundchannel.

In the above-described embodiments, the CPU 102 for selecting audio datato be processed and played back is located at the gaming machine 10. Inan alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the gaming machine 10 and aplurality of other gaming machines are linked to a remote host computer112 over a network, such as an Ethernet-based local area network (LAN).The gaming machine 10 may, in turn, select and process audio data andvideo data from its memory 106 representative of a wagering gameoutcome. The game outcome may be determined at the host computer 112 orlocally at the gaming machine 10. Alternatively, the host computer 112may transmit audio and/or video content to the gaming machine 10, whichin turn receives, processes (e.g., decodes and amplifies), and playsback the received content. The transmitted content may be streamed sothat the gaming machine 10 can start playing the content before theentire file has been transmitted. For streaming to work, the gamingmachine 10 must be able to collect the content and send it as a steadystream to the application that is processing the data and converting itto sound or images. If the streaming gaming machine 10 receives thecontent more quickly than required, it saves the excess content in abuffer.

The performance, listening environment, and physical locations of thesurround sound speakers may vary in different installations. Forexample, with respect to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in oneinstallation the surround sound speakers may be located about seven feetoff the ground and about ten feet from the gaming machine 10 for whichthey are providing surround sound. In another installation the surroundsound speakers may be located about eight off the ground and abouttwelve feet from the gaming machine 10. The variable locations mayadversely impact the effectiveness of the speakers in providing surroundsound. Accordingly, to counteract this potential issue and create theoptimum acoustical experience for players, the gaming machine 10 mayoffer operator-selectable, audio configuration options. An operator canaccess the configuration options and current settings for each optionvia an onscreen setup menu. The configuration options may, for example,include the following:

SPEAKER BALANCE ADJUSTMENT: This operation uses an internal test-tonegenerator for balancing the levels of the front and surround soundspeakers. The operator performs this adjustment of each speaker outputlevel while situated at a player's typical playing position. To initiatethe adjustment process, the operator may press an onscreen “test” key.In response, a hiss-like calibration tone is heard in sequence from thespeakers included in the speaker arrangement. In a five speakerarrangement, for example, the calibration tone is heard in sequence fromthe front left speaker, the front center speaker, the front rightspeaker, the rear right speaker and the rear left speaker. The state ofthe calibration tone output is shown in the video display 12 of thegaming machine 10. During the calibration tone sequence, the operatorcan select any speaker whose output level the operator wishes to adjustand can adjust the level of the selected speaker by pressing onscreen+/− keys. While making an adjustment to a selected speaker, thecalibration tone is fixed on the selected speaker.

SURROUND BALANCE CONTROL: Adjusts the left and right output level of thesurround sound speakers to compensate for sound imbalance caused byspeaker positions or listening environment conditions.

SURROUND SWITCH: Normally on, the operator can turn this switch off todisable output from any surround sound speakers and re-distribute anysurround sound signals to the front speakers.

DELAY TIME: The operator can adjust the time difference (i.e., delaytime) between the beginning of the sound from the front speakers and thebeginning of the effect sound from the surround sound speakers. Thelarger the value, the later the effect sound is generated. The controlrange may, for example, be 0 to 50 milliseconds (ms) in 1 ms steps. Theoperator can adjust the delay time by pressing onscreen “+/−” keys.

SURROUND SOUND SPEAKER SIZE: The operator can define the size of thesurround sound speakers to be small or large. The factory presetposition is small. In the small position, low bass signals (e.g., below90 Hz) at the surround sound channels are instead output from a lowfrequency effects (LFE) channel if the LFE channel exists in theutilized surround sound format. In the large position, full rangesignals (including low bass signals) are output from the surround soundchannels.

SURROUND SPEAKER HEIGHT: The vertical distance of each surround soundspeaker off the ground. The setup screen may offer a number of heights(e.g., in feet) from which the operator makes a selection.

SURROUND SPEAKER DISTANCE: The horizontal distance of each surroundsound speaker from the gaming machine. The setup screen may offer anumber of distances (e.g., in feet) from which the operator makes aselection. Based on the selected surround speaker height and distance,the CPU 102 automatically adjusts the volume level at the surround soundchannels.

IMPEDANCE: The operator can set the CPU's amplifier for either 4 or8-ohm speakers.

MASTER VOLUME: The operator can simultaneously control the output levelof all sound channels. In one embodiment, the operator can set thevolume to mute (off), low, medium, or high. In another embodiment, theoperator can set the volume to anywhere between mute and high.

BASS CONTROL: The operator can adjust the low frequency response for thefront sound channels.

BASS EXTENSION CONTROL: When this switch is turned on, the CPU 102boosts the bass frequency response at the front sound channels whilemaintaining overall tonal balance.

TREBLE CONTROL: The operator can adjust the high frequency response forthe front sound channels.

TONE BYPASS SWITCH: The operator can bypass the bass and treble controlsand provides a flat, pure signal. When this switch is turned on, theaudio input signal does not pass through the tone control circuitry ofthe CPU 102 so that it is unaffected by the tone control circuitry.

DYNAMIC RANGE: Dynamic range is the difference between the maximum leveland the minimum level of sounds. The operator can set the dynamic rangeto maximum, standard, or minimum. The factory preset position ismaximum. This option is effective only when the audio data is stored inthe memory 106 in a digital surround sound format.

LFE LEVEL: The operator can set the LFE level of the LFE channel between−20 dB and 0 dB in 1 dB steps. The factory preset position is 0 dB. Thisoption is effective only when the audio data is stored in the memory 106in a digital surround sound format and produces LFE signals when decodedby the CPU 102.

SOUND FIELD: The operator can select a digital signal processing (DSP)program to be used by the CPU 102 for processing the audio dataretrieved from the memory 106. The DSP programs produce different soundfields that are digital recreations of actual acoustic environments.Examples of sound fields include movie theater, sports, stadium, disco,rock concert, jazz club, church, and concert hall. The sound field may,for example, be selected according to the theme of the wagering gameconducted on the gaming machine.

SOUND SCHEME: The operator can set the sound scheme to either a thematicsound scheme or a standard sound scheme. The thematic sound schemeutilizes sounds related to the theme of the wagering game. The standardsound scheme utilizes generic sounds, i.e., sounds unrelated to thetheme of the wagering game.

The configuration options allow an operator to configure the gamingmachine 10 to optimize the acoustical experience for players. Inaddition to configuration options that can be changed via a setup menu,the gaming machine provider may define technical parameters regardingrecommended placement of gaming machines 10 and surround sound speakers.To the extent the surround sound speakers can “point” in differentdirections, the technical parameters may also include recommended anglesof the surround sound speakers. An installation manual for the gamingmachine may define the technical parameters.

In some embodiments, instead of true surround sound that relies on oneor more surround sound channels delivering audio signals to a speakerbehind or to the side of a player, the present invention alsocontemplates “virtual” surround sound. Virtual surround sound relies onpsychoacoustics effects instead of surrounding speakers to simulate asurround sound environment using only left and right speakers. A varietyof virtual surround sound software and/or hardware are available from,for example, Q-Sound Labs, SRS Labs, Spatializer Audio Labs, CreativeTechnology, Dolby, Sony, Phillips, Soundmatters, and other surroundsound technology companies.

Regardless of the specific surround sound implementation (e.g., truesurround sound, virtual surround sound, etc.), surround sound canprovide a more enjoyable audio experience compared to monophonic andstereo sound. In particular, the 3-dimensional (3-D) effects of surroundsound may provide a player with a more realistic-sounding ambienceduring game play based on the theme of the gaming machine 10. Forexample, surround sound may be used in a gaming machine 10 having aHawaiian theme to immerse the player in the sounds of ocean waves. Thewave sounds may start on one side of the player, then flow to the otherside, simulating the effect of an ocean wave rolling over the player. Inanother embodiment, surround sound may be used to provide bird calls andanimal noises in a gaming machine 10 having an Amazon theme. The birdcalls and animal noises may be made to sound as if they are comingrandomly from all around the player, simulating the effect of being in atropical rain forest.

Unfortunately, many existing wagering games were designed for monophonicand stereo sounds only. That is, the audio data files for these wageringgames were created/recorded with only one (monophonic) or two (stereo)audio channels. It would be desirable for casino operators to be able toprovide these monophonic and stereo wagering games, many of which arevery popular, in full surround sound. However, the effort and expenseassociated with creating new surround sound audio data files andreplacing the original audio data files can be prohibitive.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, the gaming machine 10 may be equippedwith a surround sound decoder that is capable of converting themonophonic and stereo signals into surround sound signals. Such surroundsound decoders are well known to those having ordinary skill in the artand are available from many of the same surround sound technologycompanies that provide the virtual surround sound algorithms mentionedabove. The surround sound decoder may be implemented in either hardwareor software (or both), and may be a stand-alone decoder or part of anintegrated codec (coder/decoder) that is also capable of convertingsurround sound signals back into monophonic and stereo signals.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of a control system suitable foroperating the gaming machine 10 in which a surround sound codec has beenadded. The control system of FIG. 12 is essentially identical to thecontrol system of FIG. 10 except that, in one embodiment, an optionalsurround sound codec 114 has been connected to the CPU 102 and thespeakers 110. In operation, the CPU 102, or a dedicated sound CPU board(not expressly shown) connected to the CPU 102, selects the appropriateaudio data files to be played from a library of audio data files storedin the memory 106. The CPU 102 may also download the audio data files(e.g., streaming) from the remote host computer 112 as needed (see FIG.11). The specific selections may be made, for example, using a look-uptable to look up the particular audio data files for the gaming eventscurrently occurring in the wagering game. For a monophonic or stereowagering game, the CPU 102 sends the monophonic and stereo audio datafiles to the surround sound codec 114 instead of directly to thespeakers 110. The surround sound codec 114 converts the monophonic orstereo signals from the CPU 102 into surround sound signals, then routesthem to the speakers 110 for playback.

The conversion to surround sound may be configured as needed to suit theparticular surround sound configuration of the gaming machine 10. Theconfiguration may require, for example, a specific number of surroundsound channels as well as a particular proprietary surround soundformat. Different codecs 114 may be needed for different proprietarysurround sound formats. In any event, the above arrangement allowscasino operators to provide their existing, and possibly more popular,monophonic and stereo wagering games in full surround sound, thus takingadvantage of surround sound-capable gaming machines like the gamingmachine 10 described herein. As a result, casino operators who havepurchased surround sound-capable gaming machines need not alter theirexisting monophonic and stereo wagering games, or purchase new surroundsound wagering games, to be able to use their surround sound gamingmachines.

An additional benefit is that, in some embodiments, players may be giventhe option of turning the surround sound codec 114 off. Such an optionmay be welcome by players who do not consider the sometimes loud andbooming effects of surround sound to be enjoyable. The option may beimplemented, for example, via a button on the touch screen 104 that theplayer may toggle on and off. Selecting this option causes themonophonic and stereo signals to pass through the surround sound codec114 substantially unaltered, thereby removing the effects of thesurround sound.

It should be noted that, although the surround sound codec 114 is shownin FIG. 12 as a hardware codec, the invention is not limited thereto.For example, it is also possible to implement the optional surroundsound codec as a software module 116 stored in the memory 106. Suchsoftware surround sound codecs are well known to those having ordinaryskill in the art and may also be available from many of the surroundsound technology companies mentioned previously. The surround soundsoftware module 116 may be executed by the CPU 102 as needed to convertmonophonic and stereo audio signals to surround sound signals. Asbefore, the conversion may be adjusted (e.g., number of channels,format, etc.) to suit the particular surround sound configuration of thegaming machine 10. The converted surround sound signals are thenprovided to the speakers 110 and played back in full surround sound inthe manner described above.

The foregoing embodiments provide surround sound in a general sense togive players a more enjoyable and exciting gaming experience. In someembodiments, however, instead of a general application, it is possibleto apply surround sound to specific wagering game elements only (i.e.,on a selective basis). Such selective application of surround sound hasbeen found to increase a player's ability to recognize and appreciatecertain gaming events associated with the surround sound, resulting inan even deeper and richer gaming experience. Following are examples ofselective application of surround sound to further enhance the gamingexperience.

In some embodiments, surround sound may be used to emphasize orotherwise distinguish key or special gaming events in the wagering game.During the course of game play, the gaming machine 10 usually producesan assortment of gaming sounds, including coins dropping, buttons beingpushed, reels spinning, various tones and music, and the like. Inaccordance with embodiments of the invention, some of these gamingsounds may be produced in stereo while others are produced in fullsurround sound. The gaming sounds that are produced in surround soundmay be associated with certain special gaming events, such as theawarding of a game enhancement symbol (e.g., a wild symbol), a bonusgame or basic game feature (e.g., free spins), a winning outcome in thewagering game (e.g., three identical symbols in a row), a progressivejackpot, and other similar events in the wagering game. It is alsopossible to define the special gaming events as a subset of a set ofgaming events, for example, only certain winning outcomes or onlycertain bonus games, and so forth. Other examples may include the playerachieving a certain wagering level, a certain level of winnings, acertain game play eligibility status, and other similar achievements bythe player.

Since only certain gaming sounds are produced in surround sound and notothers, the player is able to more easily recognize and appreciate thegaming events associated with these sounds. This arrangement has oftenbeen observed to generate a heightened sense of anticipation andexcitement in the player, thereby resulting in a more enjoyable gamingexperience. In addition, players at other gaming machines and/orpassersby in the casino may be attracted by the surround sound gamingsounds and may be emboldened in their wagering activities or persuadedto start wagering.

The gaming sounds that are produced in surround sound may assume avariety of forms. For example, they may be generic sounds, such asbells, whistles, trumpets, drum beats, and other similar celebratorysounds, or they may be theme-specific sounds, such as portions ofpopular songs, music, famous or infamous lines from movies, TV shows,real-life events, and so forth. For example, if the gaming machine 10has a “TOP GUN” movie theme, upon occurrence of a special gaming event,the gaming machine 10 may play the “TOP GUN” theme song in surroundsound. The gaming machine 10 may also play a surround sound version ofan F-14 Tomcat taking off or landing, with the engine noise swirlingaround the player to create a realistic effect. The same gaming soundmay be associated with multiple special gaming events, or several gamingsounds may be associated with a single special event, and so forth.

Furthermore, the gaming sounds that are produced in surround sound maybe arranged in a certain sequence or pattern, or otherwise orchestrated,to produce a desired effect where the special gaming events are directlyor indirectly connected to one another. For example, where the wageringgame requires the player to collect a certain number of objects insequence, each time the player collects one of the objects, the gamingsound that is produced in surround sound may be an incrementally higher(or lower) frequency version of the previous gaming sound. Similarly,the gaming sounds may be produced in surround sound with anincrementally louder (or softer) volume each time the player collectsone of the objects. In any case, the effect on the player is often oneof suspense and anticipation slowly or quickly increasing until thesurround sound gaming sounds eventually culminate in some predeterminedaudio finale or climax.

In some embodiments, the specific spatialization of the surround soundmay be varied based upon the occurrence of certain special gamingevents. Spatialization refers to the location in space from which thegaming sounds appear to be coming from relative to the gaming machine10. Possible spatializations include front-left, front-right, rear-left,rear-right, front-center, rear-center, and various combinations thereof.The gaming sound may also flow from one spatialization to another (e.g.,left-to-right, right-to-left, front-to-back, back-to-front, clockwise,counterclockwise, and various combinations thereof). The flow may be agradual or sudden flow, depending on the particular special gamingevents. Thus, for example, in a wagering game where the player has theoption of doubling (or tripling, quadrupling, etc.) his or her wager,not selecting the option may result in gaming sounds being played onlyin front of the player during game play. On the other hand, selectingthe doubling option may result in the same gaming sounds being playedboth in the front and back of the player during game play. It is alsopossible for the gaming machine 10 or the remote host computer 112 tovary the spatialization independently of any player actions, selections,wagers, and the like, in order to achieve a certain effect.

As mentioned above, the gaming sounds that are produced by the gamingmachine 10 may be stored as audio data files in the memory 106 (ordownloaded from the remote host computer 112 as needed). In oneembodiment, the particular audio data files for the special gamingevents may be stored in a surround sound format, while other audio datafiles are stored in a stereo or monophonic format. All audio data filesare then played back using their respective native formats when selectedand there is no conversion between formats. In an alternativeembodiment, the audio data files for both the special gaming events aswell as other gaming events may be stored in the same stereo ormonophonic format, then converted to a surround sound format by thehardware or software codecs 114 or 116 (see FIG. 12) as needed. As aresult, the selection of which particular gaming sounds are to be playedin surround sound for a given wagering game may be changed from time totime as needed by the casino operators. This arrangement advantageouslyallows the casino operators to more easily alter and/or update thewagering game without having to change out the audio data files.

In addition to an enhanced audio experience, surround sound may also beused to further provide the player with an enhanced tactile experience.For example, one or more surround sound channels may be used to provideaudio signals to the subwoofer speakers mentioned previously. Thelow-frequency sounds from the subwoofers may then be used to vibrate thecabinet of the gaming machine 10 and/or the chair on which the playersits. The intensity and/or duration of the vibrations, as well as theirtiming, may be selected to coincide with certain special gaming eventsoccurring in the wagering game as needed to achieve a desired effect.For more information regarding the use of the audio signals to provide atactile experience in a gaming machine, the reader is referred to U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/592,894, entitled “Gaming Machine Chair,”filed on Jul. 30, 2004, and incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. The overall impact is an enhanced audio and tactile experiencethat increases the enjoyment and excitement of the gaming experience forthe player.

While the present invention has been described with reference to one ormore particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognizethat many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. Accordingly, each of theseembodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated as fallingwithin the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forthin the following claims:

1-21. (canceled)
 22. An electronic gaming system having a single-player sound environment for distinguishing, in an audio manner, between different gaming events occurring during a single game play of a wagering game, comprising: a gaming machine for a single player playing a wagering game, the gaming machine including a a cabinet housing, a display for displaying the wagering game, the display being mounted to the cabinet housing, a button panel for accepting game inputs from the single player, the button panel being mounted to the cabinet housing below the display, and front speakers including a first front speaker and a second front speaker mounted to the cabinet housing, the front speaker emitting audio toward the single player of the gaming system; an upright chair on which the single player sits for playing the wagering game, the upright chair including a base extending upwardly from a floor on which the upright chair is situated, a seating section mounted to the base and being generally horizontal to the floor, the seating section being offset from the floor, a back-supporting section extending upwardly from the seating section and having a top-most portion, at least one bracket extending upwardly from the top-most portion of the back-supporting section, rear speakers including a first rear speaker and a second rear speaker mounted to the at least one bracket such that the rear speakers are above the back-supporting section, the rear speakers facing toward the gaming machine such that sound is emitted toward the gaming machine, and a subwoofer for vibrating the upright chair in response to certain events in the wagering game, the subwoofer providing the player with an enhanced tactile experience; wherein in response to receiving a wager from the single player, a randomly selected outcome occurs during the wagering game, the randomly selected outcome including presenting to the single player a non-special event and a special event; wherein the non-special event is presented to the single player with non-surround sound transmitted only from the front speakers of the gaming cabinet; and wherein the special event is presented in an emphasized manner to the single player with surround sound transmitted from both the front speakers and the rear speakers of the upright chair such that the single player perceives the surround sound of the wagering game as occurring in front of and behind the single player.
 23. An electronic gaming system for conducting a wagering game, the system comprising: a gaming terminal at which a single player plays the wagering game, the gaming terminal including a display and at least one front speaker, the display being operable to display a game outcome randomly selected from a plurality of possible game outcomes of the wagering game; an upright chair configured to permit the single player to sit in an upright position in front of the gaming terminal to play the wagering game, the chair including a generally horizontal seat and a generally vertical back extending upwardly from the seat, the chair including at least one rear speaker positioned behind a listening position of the player; and an audio system operable to produce gaming sounds directed toward the player of the wagering game, the gaming sounds associated with a first of the possible game outcomes of the wagering game not being transmitted from the rear speaker, the gaming sounds associated with a second of the possible game outcomes of the wagering game being transmitted from the rear speaker, thereby enhancing the second of the possible game outcomes; wherein the front and rear speakers define a single-player surround sound environment.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the at least one front speaker is associated with at least a first audio channel and the at least one rear speaker is associated with at least a second audio channel.
 25. The system of claim 23, wherein the gaming sounds associated with the first of the possible game outcomes are derived from first audio data files stored in a non-surround sound format, and the gaming sounds associated with the second of the possible game outcomes are derived from second audio data files stored in a surround sound format, such that the audio system plays back the first and second audio data files using their respective native formats.
 26. The system of claim 23, wherein the gaming sounds associated with the first and second of the possible game outcomes are derived from respective first and second audio data files stored in a non-surround sound format, such that the audio system converts the second audio data files from the non-surround sound format to a surround sound format.
 27. The system of claim 23, further including a user interface permitting a player to disable the audio system from producing any of the gaming sounds in surround sound.
 28. The system of claim 23, wherein the second of the possible game outcomes is selected from a group consisting of achieving a certain game enhancement symbol, winning outcome, bonus game, wagering level, level of winnings, and game play eligibility status.
 29. The system of claim 23, wherein the audio system is operable to vary the spatialization of the gaming sounds associated with the second of the possible game outcomes.
 30. The system of claim 23, further including a subwoofer for vibrating the chair, thereby providing the player with an enhanced tactile experience.
 31. The system of claim 23, wherein the at least one rear speaker is mounted to, and disposed above, the generally vertical back.
 32. The system of claim 31, further comprising at least one bracket extending upwardly from a top portion of the vertical back, the at least one rear speaker being mounted to the at least one bracket.
 33. An electronic gaming system having a single-player sound environment for distinguishing, in an audio manner, between different gaming events occurring during a single game play of a wagering game, comprising: a gaming machine for a single player playing a wagering game, the gaming machine including a a cabinet housing, a display for displaying the wagering game, the display being mounted to the cabinet housing, a button panel for accepting game inputs from the single player, the button panel being mounted to the cabinet housing below the display, and front speakers including a first front speaker and a second front speaker mounted to the cabinet housing and for emitting audio toward the single player of the gaming system; an upright chair on which the single player sits for playing the wagering game, the upright chair including a base extending upwardly from a floor on which the upright chair is situated, a seating section mounted to the base and being generally horizontal to the floor, the seating section being offset from the floor, a back-supporting section extending upwardly from the seating section, and rear speakers including a first rear speaker and a second rear speaker mounted to the back-supporting section, the rear speakers extending upwardly from a top portion of the back-supporting section and facing toward the gaming machine such that sound is emitted toward the gaming machine; wherein in response to receiving a wager from the single player, a randomly selected outcome occurs during the wagering game, the randomly selected outcome including presenting to the single player a non-special event and a special event; wherein the non-special event is presented to the single player with non-surround sound transmitted only from the front speakers of the gaming cabinet; and wherein the special event is presented in an emphasized manner to the single player with surround sound transmitted from both the front speakers and the rear speakers of the upright chair such that the single player perceives the surround sound of the wagering game as occurring in front of and behind the single player.
 34. The electronic gaming system of claim 33, wherein the non-surround sound is stored in a non-surround sound format in a first audio data file, the surround sound being stored in a surround sound format in a second audio data file, the first audio data file and the second audio data file being played back in their respective native formats.
 35. The electronic gaming system of claim 33, wherein the surround sound is derived from audio data files stored in a non-surround sound format, the audio data files being converted from the non-surround sound format to a surround sound format.
 36. The electronic gaming system of claim 33, further comprising a player interface providing the player an option to disable the surround sound from being produced.
 37. The electronic gaming system of claim 33, wherein the special event during which the surround sound is produced is selected from a group consisting of achieving a certain game enhancement symbol, a winning outcome, a bonus game, a wagering level, a level of winnings, and a game play eligibility status.
 38. The electronic gaming system of claim 33, wherein spatialization of the surround sound associated with the special event is variable.
 39. The electronic gaming system of claim 33, further comprising a subwoofer for vibrating the upright chair, the subwoofer providing the player with an enhanced tactile experience.
 40. The electronic gaming system of claim 33, further comprising at least one bracket extending upwardly from the top portion of the back-supporting section, the rear speakers being mounted to the at least one bracket.
 41. The electronic gaming system of claim 40, further comprising two brackets, each of the two brackets for mounting a corresponding one of the rear speakers.
 42. The electronic gaming system of claim 40, wherein the front speakers are located above the display of the gaming machine.
 43. The electronic gaming system of claim 42, wherein the front speakers are located at a first level above the floor and the rear speakers are located at a second level above the floor, the first level being higher than the second level.
 44. The electronic gaming system of claim 33, wherein first front speaker is associated with a first front channel and the second front speaker is associated with a second front channel.
 45. The electronic gaming system of claim 33, wherein the first rear speaker is associated with a first rear channel and the second rear speaker is associated with a second rear channel.
 46. An electronic gaming system for conducting a wagering game, the system comprising: a gaming terminal at which a single player plays the wagering game, the gaming terminal including a display and at least one front speaker, the display being operable to display a randomly selected outcome selected from a plurality of possible game outcomes of the wagering game; an upright chair including a generally horizontal seat and a generally vertical back extending upwardly from the seat, the chair being configured to permit the single player to sit in an upright position offset from a floor plane, the chair including at least one rear speaker positioned behind a listening position of the single player; and an audio system operable to produce gaming sounds directed toward the single player during the wagering game, the gaming sounds associated with first events of the randomly selected outcome being transmitted from only one of either the front speaker and the rear speaker, the gaming sounds associated with second events of the randomly selected outcome being transmitted from both the front speaker and the rear speaker; wherein the front speaker and the rear speaker define a single-player surround sound environment.
 47. The electronic gaming system of claim 46, further including at least one bracket extending upwardly from a top portion of the vertical back, the at least one rear speaker being mounted to the at least one bracket.
 48. The electronic gaming system of claim 47, wherein an entire portion of the at least one rear speaker is positioned above the vertical back.
 49. The electronic gaming system of claim 47, further including two brackets extending upwardly from a top portion of the vertical back, the chair including two rear speakers positioned behind the listening position of the single player and mounted to a corresponding one of the two brackets.
 50. The electronic gaming system of claim 46, further including a subwoofer within the upright chair for vibrating the upright chair, the subwoofer providing the single player with an enhanced tactile experience. 